Hablé con ese muchacho.

with

Breakdown of Hablé con ese muchacho.

• ese: that
• hablar: to speak
• el muchacho: the young man

Questions & Answers about Hablé con ese muchacho.

What does hablé mean here, and what tense is it?

Hablé is the first-person singular form of hablar in the pretérito indefinido (the simple past in Spain-style terminology).

So hablé means I spoke or I talked.

In this sentence, Hablé con ese muchacho, the subject is understood as I, because Spanish often leaves subject pronouns out when the verb already makes the person clear.

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Why does hablé have an accent mark?

The accent mark in hablé is important because it shows both pronunciation and meaning.

• hablé = I spoke / I talked
• hable = that I speak / speak! (subjunctive or formal command, depending on context)

The written accent helps distinguish these forms.

It also shows that the stress falls on the last syllable: ha-BLÉ.

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How do you pronounce Hablé con ese muchacho?